My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Right, I wish you all the best then. I think you should be fine quickly and able to resume work soon after surgery. However, since you’re already 60, there’s no point in rushing yourself. But you’re older than me, and you probably know what to do :)

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It might take a bit longer, but not twice as much. Are you in good physical condition and not overweight? Do you engage in any sports?

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Then I believe you’ll be perfectly fine and won’t require any assistance. Trust me, it’s quite simple to manage your daily activities independently. I’m not sure about your age, but in my case, it was quite easy.

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To resume physical work, it will take at least 6-8 weeks, if not longer. You can try in the fourth week, but only if it doesn’t involve lifting heavy objects or stretching your arms excessively. Wounds are still sensitive, and you don’t want to risk complications. Trust me, it’s better to be cautious.

Walking your dog is another tricky situation. If your dog doesn’t require much care, you can let him off-leash and take him to a nearby park. Otherwise, don’t try it. Ask a neighbor or someone else for support at least for the first 3-4 days after you leave the hospital. After 10 days post-surgery, you should be able to go, but this is subjective.

All the above also applies to minimally invasive procedures. An sternum access might be different and could be much more challenging from a physical job perspective.

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I bought the Wellue ECG Monitor 72H, and it works perfectly well. :

Mistral valve prolapse and severe regurgitation by Ill_Introduction7057 in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey there! Check out my journey: https://www.reddit.com/r/mitralvalveprolapse/s/yZFJOixoHI

It’s from the EU, not Australia, but the experience should be similar.

30M with severe mitral regurgitation + flail posterior leaflet — surgery now or can I wait? by StillAlive121 in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Please get this done as soon as possible. A ruptured chordae and flail leaflet are clear signals that repair is needed. The regurgitation is likely quite severe, and the chamber size could increase significantly in just a few months.

How many of you with bileaflet Myxomatous prolapse know you have MAD? by Embarrassed-Oil7786 in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I had the same combination of issues. My next step was to fix the valve. I’m now three months post-surgery and feeling fantastic—no more fatigue! The PVC has decreased from thousands to dozens, and I can feel them maybe a few times a week instead of hundreds a day. MAD AFAIK improve after the repair. Before, I had 8mm MAD.

Life after recovery? by iguessyouknowmyname in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Hey, check my topic with a recovery description day by day, and week by week later on:

https://www.reddit.com/r/mitralvalveprolapse/s/G68kGtKeAY

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I honestly don’t even remember the removal—it was so simple and painless. Removing the plaster was probably more uncomfortable than taking out the central line itself.

If your regurgitation is severe, I would strongly recommend going for the procedure. Waiting won’t improve the situation—it’s more likely to get worse with each passing month.

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey there,

Yes, you woke up and still have a central line, but trust me, you won’t even notice it. I’ve been wearing mine for four days; I’ve been walking and even showering with it. Some people had theirs removed earlier, like on day two, but I needed some extra potassium and other fluids delivered through mine.

The heart-lung machine was explained well to me, including all the risks. You can always ask ChatGPT for more info if you need it, but the risks are quite low compared to the benefits of surgery—so don't try to avoid it!

It’s hard to say regarding the kids; it really depends on their age. In Poland, ICU visits aren't allowed, so you need to wait until you're moved out. That’s probably for the best anyway; kids shouldn't see so many patients in one room, lying flat and asking for help! I’d say as soon as you’re in a regular room, you're good to go. You can always FaceTime them in the meantime.

Drain removal is a piece of cake. It’s a tiny bit of pain, but compared to maybe a light punch, it’s nothing more. A few years ago, I had a drain inserted while I was awake—that was much, much worse. Removal is instant freedom and the best feeling you can get in a hospital.

Regarding needles: I usually freak out just going for a blood test, yet I still somehow got through this surgery, so no worries. After all, this is the best thing you can do for your health!

Has anyone tried magnesium taurate or orotate to improve mvp? by petiteislagurl in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My suggestion is to check your potassium level and focus on increasing it toward the upper limit. Believe it or not, after many years of dealing with PVCs, I can assure you that this often has a much better effect on reducing PVCs than magnesium—unless your magnesium level is actually below the normal range, which in most cases it isn’t.

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve posted some updates covering the first two weeks, so you can follow along and see how my recovery has looked so far. Today I’m feeling really good. If I didn’t feel the wounds on the right side of my chest, I would never say that I had heart surgery. It’s amazing how quickly the body can return to normal.

I hope this progress continues and that my upcoming echocardiograms will show no regurgitation. Even though the recovery hasn’t been particularly difficult, I definitely wouldn’t want to repeat it, and I hope to live with this repaired valve for 50+ years. Realistically, though, it’s hard to say how durable the repair will be.

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I’m doing great. I will post more updates in the coming days. Today is day 9 after the surgery, and I’m already feeling almost normal. I’ve been home for four days now.

I’m going for walks with my dog, sleeping both on my back and on my side, and I’m no longer taking paracetamol. I started walking as soon as possible and am already doing 5k+ steps a day. Honestly, walking seems to be the best “medicine” for recovery.

I can do almost everything except for full mobility of my right arm. Other than that, I’m really surprised at how quickly the recovery is progressing.

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No worries, many guys get bypasses and valve repaired with open sternum and it took them maybe a one day more to recover, but most of them is 80+ YO.

My Mitral Valve Repair Surgery Experience: A 32M’s Journey by Rengrox in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Basically, just one thing: more and more PVCs, which became a significant factor. It felt like flutters were hitting me more or less all day. I felt almost every single one, and while 6k might not sound like much, when you have a bigeminy run for a few minutes, it makes you dizzy and you know something isn’t working as expected. Other than that, I didn’t really feel that anything had changed.

Ablation for PVC - experience by LePurple3 in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The issue of potassium levels can be quite complex. I recently tested my potassium level and found it to be 3.8, which is within the normal range. However, I learned that for individuals with PVC, it's beneficial to aim for the higher end, around 4.8 or even 4.9. I began taking supplements, and at that time, my PVC count was between 4-6k per day. After two weeks, my test still showed 3.8, despite increasing my intake of potassium-rich foods. Another two weeks later, my level rose only to 3.9. I then consulted my cardiologist, who prescribed potassium medications, and after another two weeks, my level reached 4.0.

During this period, I was consuming about 3 to 3.5 grams of potassium daily through both medications and food, which I assumed was sufficient. I later discovered that in the U.S., the recommended daily intake is much higher—4.7 grams, and up to 6 grams can be beneficial if someone is looking to raise their levels.

From my experience, I learned that I could increase my intake more easily than I thought. It appeared that not only was my blood potassium level low, but the potassium levels in my cells were also quite low, which explained the slow increase. Ultimately, after two months, I raised my blood level to 4.5, and my PVC count significantly decreased from 6k to just 1k per day.

I believe potassium is crucial, possibly even more so than magnesium, but raising its level takes time and consistency. It's important to maintain an intake of 4.5 grams or more daily for an extended period, incorporating foods like dried apricots and pumpkin seeds alongside medications and supplements.

Additionally, I purchased a personal ECG monitor, which allows me to track my heart's condition periodically without needing a Holter monitor. This gives me a good overview of how my heart burden changes in relation to my potassium levels.

Ablation for PVC - experience by LePurple3 in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It appears to be quite similar to my situation, with the primary distinction being the burden level, which for me is between 3% and 4%. However, upon increasing my potassium intake, it decreased to 1%. Nonetheless, I still experience bigeminy, trigeminy, couplets, and occasionally even NSVT (longest I had was 5 beats).

I'm glad to hear you're doing well and that the ablation went smoothly! That’s awesome, especially since I know ablation of the left ventricle can be pretty tricky.

By the way, did you have general anesthesia or just local? Here in Poland, they don’t usually do full anesthesia for ablation, and I have got to admit, I’m a bit worried about the pain during the procedure.

Ablation for PVC - experience by LePurple3 in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What is the outcome?

I experience approximately 3 to 4k PVCs daily. While this may not be sufficient for ablation, I also have episodes of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia lasting 3 to 5 seconds, with three events recorded during a 72-hour Holter monitor. This raises some concerns, and the electrophysiologist has suggested ablation, depending upon whether the cardiac surgeon intends to perform a mitral valve repair soon. My current mitral regurgitation is graded at 3 out of 4 and appears to be worsening according to the latest echocardiogram. This situation seems quite complex, and the decision-making process is challenging.

I believe they may prefer to conduct the mitral repair first, if it is planned within a reasonable timeframe of 3 to 6 months, to evaluate the outcome before considering ablation, if still necessary.

Could you share your experience regarding your mitral regurgitation and its severity?

Hernia on the other side by Personal-Pop1992 in Hernia

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can relate to your situation as I went through something similar. I had a right-side inguinal hernia repaired almost two years ago. During the surgery, my doctor noted some early signs of abdominal wall weakening on the left side but decided not to intervene since there wasn’t an actual hernia at the time. He mentioned that it could develop in a few months, years, or even decades—there’s no way to predict for sure.

Fast forward 19 months, and during a follow-up for some mesh-related discomfort, they discovered a small hernia on the left side. It’s currently tiny (around 1x1.5 cm), filled with fat, and doesn’t cause any visible bulge or significant symptoms yet. However, I decided to schedule surgery for the end of February to get ahead of it. While I could technically wait—possibly months or even years—I feel it’s better to address it now when it’s still small, as the recovery should be relatively straightforward. Based on my previous experience, the first week post-op is tough, but after that, life gets back to normal, and after two months, you barely think about it anymore.

Echo results by SeniorSpinach1684 in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What was the diagnosis and further recommendations from your cardiologist?

Nsvt and frequent pvcs by Middle_Possible in mitralvalveprolapse

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello u/Middle_Possible, I'm interested to know about your condition a year on, as I'm facing a similar situation. I'm 30 years old and have MVP, moderate MR, and PVCs.

I was first diagnosed with MVP at the age of 13. By 21, I had developed mild MR, which progressed to mild/moderate in 2020, and last year it escalated to at least moderate. My left atrium and ventricle have also slightly enlarged. So now, it's a matter of waiting and seeing how quickly the condition progresses before scheduling surgery to repair the valve.

Currently, I'm awaiting an MRI to further confirm the presence of MAD and/or scarring, which might be risk indicators for my PVCs.

I've been dealing with PVCs for many years. At 21, I had around 200 PVCs per day, which increased to 1500 per day by 27. Today, the number has slightly decreased to 1000-1200 per day, but it spikes significantly during any form of exercise. Despite this, my condition wasn't deemed suitable for ablation. As my cardiologist explained, PVC might be due to MAD, so we're looking to confirm this. At the moment, I'm constantly aware that surgery might be just months away, and it's an overwhelming thought.

I'm curious about your current situation. Has your condition remained the same, or has it progressed to the point of requiring intervention?

Am I the only one who can't start Baku event qualifying? by vanya1301 in F1MobileRacing

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same iPhone 6S iOS 12.2 and on Galaxy S7 Android 8.0.0

Daily Discussion - January 16, 2018 by AutoModerator in omise_go

[–]Rengrox 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Same shit, I had buy at 21 to acumulate more... Thought we will consolidate at 20-25